Federal Building, Court Houses Remain Open Despite Shutdown
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The entertainment capital of the world and the rest of the Southland were expected to be impacted as the first shutdown of the federal government in nearly 17 years took effect Monday.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports more than 800,000 federal employees were to be furloughed after Congress failed to reach a compromise on a spending bill that would have funded the government at least through the end of the year.
Federal Building, Court Houses Remain Open Despite Shutdown
While most nonessential employees will not be at work, facilities such as federal courthouses, prisons and the L.A. Federal Building in Westwood remained open.
Some government employees were unsure what the shutdown would mean for their pocketbook.
"I would not be at work, so I would have some free time at home, but it remains to be seen whether the employees would get paid," he said.
Nixon Library, National Parks Closed Amid Government Shutdown
But Joshua Tree, Death Valley and other U.S. national parks will be closed to visitors, in addition to the Department of Housing and Urban Development office in downtown Los Angeles and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The closures of national parks and other federally-owned locations also means film permits for those locations will stop being issued. FCC approval of broadcast licenses and mergers will be halted, and other mergers and transactions that require federal approval would be put on hold.
Transportation planners in L.A. warned the the so-called "Subway to the Sea" could also be in jeopardy amid closures to federal transportation offices: while most agencies have enough funds to cover the next 10 days or so, it was unclear what would happen should the shutdown extend deep into October.
Mail delivery will not be affected, while Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment benefits will be disbursed as usual. However, recipients were warned of possible delays in processing new disability applications.
Websites for federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Economic Analysis were offline as of Tuesday morning.
Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO the shutdown would end immediately if the House of Representatives would pass a clean resolution.
"This isn't a place to fight about birth control or health care for senior citizens or reforming Social Security," Boxer said. "It's a straightforward budget; it's our basic responsibility, keep the riders off it."
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